~ profound truth in simple terms

Tag Archives: hospitality

This is the time of year when many of us invite family and friends to our homes. I must admit that although I enjoy the gatherings I am really not gifted in hospitality. I hate the getting ready part and since I am not a good cook my only contribution to the party is a clean house and some dessert. I struggle to make the table comfortable and inviting and my husband, who does the cooking often moves the table decoration off somewhere else so he can put all the food on the table. All in all entertaining is not what I do best. Yet I am reminded that much of the Bible talks about being hospitable to all, especially strangers. It was a part of their culture to offer food, drink, and shelter to all who pass by. We often see Jesus and his disciples invited into homes where they would break bread and share the good news. Jesus even told parables about people dining together. One of them even talked about a party where no one would come so they went out and invited anyone who would come. (Luke 14:12-24) This reminds me of Hebrews 13:2 that says, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”

As I was thinking about my lack of hospitality I felt the Lord say, “I didn’t ask you to clean or to make a dessert. Hospitality is not how you decorate, it is a heart issue.” This got me to thinking about us as the body of Christ. His hands and feet in all situations. Maybe one method of hospitality we as Christians can emulate is to be like Jesus. When people met him it was as if he was inviting them into his home, even though he didn’t even have one! Just being in Jesus’ presence and feeling his warm welcome made many feel they were at home with him. I am struggling to share this concept of carrying your home with you wherever you go, so I think I want to illustrate this concept with four true stories of how others have done this. Continue reading →

My 4 year old granddaughter likes to play with the magnets on the refrigerator. One day she finished playing with them and said, “Grandma, look a smile!” She had arranged all the magnets into a smiley face. I’ve left them like that as sometimes with all the worries of this life I need to remember to smile. Years ago, when I taught in a public school, I decided that not only would I enjoy and smile with my class, but each time I ventured out to walk the halls I purposely put on a smile to greet whoever I met there. It made a difference in my attitude and the Continue reading →

One bright, sunny day Merryweather flew to see the Princess. When she got to the door of the house she rang the door bell. The Princess’ Mommy answered the door. She welcomed Merryweather inside. But the Princess was busy playing. She didn’t pay any attention to Merryweather.

Merryweather thought, “Oh my. The Princess does not even know how to welcome someone to her home. I have much to teach this little princess.”

Mommy said, “Princess you have a visitor.”

The Princess was very busy. She didn’t know that it was rude to ignore Merryweather. Her mother called her many times. Finally, the Princess came in to see who was visiting her.

Lately I came to the realization that I needed to reconnect with some friends in the same space. I’m not too tech savvy but even I realize that e-mails and phone calls are not the same as face-to-face contact. The sad thing about our society today is many of us have forgotten or some of us may not have known the joy of truly sharing with someone who is giving us their full undivided attention. My friend and I were talking the other day of being in a room with grandkids and kids who were all on their electronic gizmos and not interacting with one another even though the grandparent had traveled hours to spend time with them. It seems that gathering around a table with a cup of coffee or glass of milk and cookies and lots of interactive conversation between family members or friends is almost as extinct as being chased by a dinosaur.

I, too, have found myself alone and feeling sorry for myself as I allow the world of entertainment to steal precious time from me that could be spent in face-to-face conversation with the people I care about and who Continue reading →

There’s a story in the Exodus that shows that encouraging one person can encourage many. An enemy of the Israelites (the Amalekites) attacked them after their escape from Egypt. Moses told Joshua to choose men to fight back while he was to go up on the hill to oversee the fight. Moses stood on the hill and raised his staff in the air. As long as Moses held the staff up the Israelites would win, but when his arms grew tired and he lowered the staff the Israelites would begin to lose. Aaron, his brother, and Hur, described by the historian Josephus as married to Miriam his sister, had traveled up the hill with Moses. When they saw what was happening as a result of Moses’ actions, they Continue reading →

Years ago I read a book by Karen Mains called Open Heart Open Home. As I recall, it was a book about using your home as a place of ministry through hospitality. I never felt that I had the gift of hospitality. I don’t cook well. I don’t feel gifted in setting a beautiful table or giving parties. But, after reading a quote by Max Lucado, I realize that I have been more gifted than I thought. Max Lucado wrote in Outlive Your Life, “It’s no accident that hospitality and hospital come from the same Latin word, for they both lead to the same result: healing. When you open your door to someone, you are sending this message: ‘You matter to me and to God.’ But what your guest hears is, ‘I’m worth the effort.’”

Years ago my friend, Marilyn (who does have the hospitality gift) and I started praying that our homes would be safe sanctuaries. By that I meant Continue reading →

Mary of Bethany was so thankful to Jesus for raising her beloved brother Lazarus from the dead that she wanted to show her great appreciation. What could she do to honor the Messiah? She had listened to his preaching very carefully and knew that he thought he would be killed very soon. She had an expensive vial of anointing oil that was to be used as her wedding dowry, but it was the best she had. When others criticized her gift, Jesus said, “She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.” (Mark 14:8)

This story so touched Elisa Morgan* that she wrote a book about it and instead of focusing on the expense of the oil, she focused on the words “she did what she could” and began to ask if she was doing all she could.